Peanut Butter Dream Buttercream Frosting

Peanut Butter Dream Buttercream Frosting

This is the lightest, most delicious frosting I've ever made (or tasted).  It's so light it feels like a whipped frosting.  It's simple to make and looks delicious when it's piped on to cupcakes.  This recipe makes enough frosting to generously frost 24 cupcakes, with a little extra to eat with a spoon later. ;-)

Slightly adapted from: Cake Central

What you need:
1 Cup Butter, softened to room temperature
1 Cup Creamy Peanut butter
3 Cups Powdered Sugar
3 Tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
A Pinch of Salt

What you do:
1.  Cream the butter and peanut butter together until light and fluffy.  Don't skimp on time here.  I let my stand mixer cream the butter and peanut butter for about 7 minutes. 

2.  Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time.  Make sure all of the sugar is incorporated before adding the next cup. 

3.  Add the vanilla extract and mix well. 

4.  Add the whipping cream and mix well. 

5.  Add the salt and mix well. 

6.  Frost your favorite cupcakes. 

Enjoy!

P.S.  I haven't tried this yet, but I think this frosting could be used as a cupcake filling or even as a sweet dip if y'all are feeling adventurous. 

Energy Balls

My good friend Amber suggested that I try her AMAZING recipe for energy balls.  A while ago.  Like, last October.  I quickly opened the recipe because I get all excited when my friends and family share recipes with me!  Then I read the ingredients and quickly closed the recipe.  Pfffffft!  This recipe calls for wheat germ or flaxseed.   And no sugar.  At all!?!  NO SUGAR????  Are you kidding me?   Clearly, she didn't know me very well.  

So I thanked her for her recipe and told her I'd put it on my list of recipes to try.  Then I scoffed inside.  Because I knew there was nooooo way I was going to make that silly hippie food. 

Well, I've been feeling a little low on energy lately (helllllooo 15 hour work days).  So, this weekend I got desperate.  And decided to try her hippie energy balls.  I had most of the ingredients on hand, so why not?  And, I just knew that when I ate one and it tasted like cardboard, I'd be vindicated.  And I could return to sugar as my main source of energy. 

So, I made them.  And then I ate one.  And then I ate like one million more.  Because these things are deeeelicious, people.  There's no saving my pride here, folks.  I owe Amber one big fat apology.  So, here it is.  You were right and I was wrong.  (God, I hate how that sounds!)

Have a little faith in me and give these things a shot.  Seriously, I promise, you won't be disappointed.  They require very few ingredients and very little time.  They're scrumptious, healthy, and they give you energy.  What do you have to lose? 

I like these so much that I'm already trying to come up with variations.  But, for now, here is my version of Amber's  Energy Balls:

Here's what you need:

1 cup Quick Oats

2 heaping tbsp Peanut Butter

1/2 cup Honey

1 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 c wheat germ or flaxseed

2 tsp Vanilla

Here's what you do:

1.  Mix everything together. 

2.  Refrigerate for 1 hour. 

3.  Roll into one inch balls. 

4.  Enjoy!  Seriously -- that's it. 

FYI -- Amber's recipe also called for coconut and dried fruit.  I'm picky.  I don't like coconut, so I omitted that.  And dried fruit just didn't sound like it would fit all that well with all the other ingredients, so I kicked that out too.  I could have been wrong about that.  I've been wrong about other things.  *aaahheeemm*  Feel free to add those back in.  She suggested a cup of each. 

12 Days of Christmas Cookies -- Day 2: Peanut Butter Cookies (with a Gluten Free option)

Generally, I dislike peanut butter cookies.  Usually they’re dry, in my opinion.    I like a soft, moist, chewy cookie.  And they don’t taste peanut buttery enough for me.  I’d much rather save the trouble of making those silly cookies and sit down with a container of peanut butter and a spoon.  My sister, Cindy, made some peanut butter cookies several years ago that I tried (mostly just to be nice).  Turns out, they were deeelicious!  They were super soft and very peanut buttery.  And, the best part, is that the recipe only calls for 4 ingredients!  I got the recipe from her and then lost it after making the cookies a few times.  Whooops!  So, this is my rendition of the recipe, from memory.

My friend Laura tells me these can be made gluten free by substituting gluten free vanilla for the regular vanilla.  Bonus!

Here’s what you need:

1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1 cup Brown Sugar, packed

1 Egg

1 Tsp Vanilla (for gluten free cookies, use gluten free vanilla)

Here’s what you do:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix all ingredients together.

3.  Roll peanut butter into 1 inch balls.

4.  Bake for about 8 minutes.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Pie

There are certain dishes that I make every year, but only at certain times of the year.  This is one of them.  This is a delicious recipe that is easy to make, but tastes like it isn't.  I'm not sure where the recipe came from . . . I may have gotten it from my Aunt Julie.  But maybe not . . . 


Anyhow, who doesn't like creamy peanut butter with a little chocolate on top?  Nobody.  That's who.  So, why don't I make this pie more often, you ask?  Because it's very rich.  It doesn't matter how delicious a recipe is, too much of a good thing can be bad.  So, I save this pie for holiday time.  Although sometimes I make it and keep it in the fridge for breakfast.  For myself.  And I don't share.  


Here's what you need:
1 Block of Cream Cheese, room temperature
1 Cup of Creamy Peanut Butter
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream 
1 Pie Crust (sometimes I use a graham cracker crust and sometimes I use a chocolate one)
Chocolate Dessert Topping or Spare Chocolate Chips for Topping (optional)
Whipped Cream for Topping (optional)


Here's what you do:
1.  Mix the Cream Cheese, Peanut Butter, Sugar, and 1/3 of the Cup of Heavy Whipping Cream until well blended. 


2.  Fold in the remaining Heavy Whipping Cream. 


3.  Gently spoon the mixture into a pie crust and smooth. 

4.  Drizzle Chocolate Dessert Topping on top and use a fork or knife to create a pretty design. 


     Hint:  If you don't have Chocolate Dessert Topping, melt a few chocolate chips with 
      some of the remaining heavy whipping cream.  Make sure you stir well to combine 
      and then put that on top of the pie and proceed with step 4. 


5.  Refrigerate for at least one hour. 


6.  Cut into tiny pieces for serving.  Top with whipped cream if desired. 


Enjoy! 

Peanut Butter Jack-o-Lanterns

So, I bought this house.  It sounded like a good idea at one time.  I'm pretty sure it's brought out the worst in me.  When it comes to this house, I cannot make a decision to save my life.  I've frustrated everyone around me.  Plus me. 

Anyway, when I get frustrated I like to eat delicious food (I also like to eat delicious food when I'm not frustrated -- in case you were wondering).  I've made these peanut butter balls before and they were delicious.  They are very rich and satisfying.  If you like Peanut Butter Pie, I guarantee you'll love this recipe! 

So, I decided to make this recipe again to ease my woes.  Or distract me from having to make decisions.  Whatever.  Since it's almost Halloween, I decided to add a little Halloween twist.  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to make much Halloween food this year.  I've got a few days left, though, so maybe I'll squeeze in the time to make something else.  Even if I don't, I'm pretty satisfied with this cute little number.  These are ridiculously simple to make and are quite the crowd pleaser. 

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Here's what I used:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (not all-natural)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
Red Food Coloring
Yellow Food Coloring
Black Tube Decorator's Icing
Yellow Tube Decorator's Icing
Teddy Grahams

Here's what I did:
1.  Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until blended.

2.  Divide mixture into 3 even portions. 

3.  Spoon each portion onto a piece of plastic wrap; bring up all four corners and twist tightly forming into a ball shape.

3.  Refrigerate the balls overnight.

4.  Put sugar in a bowl.  Add  yellow and red food coloring, adding one drop of each color at a time.  Stir well until color is well blended into sugar.  Repeat until sugar attains the color of orange desired.

5.  Remove the balls from the refrigerator and unwrap. 

6.  Smash each ball down so that it is smashed into a circle (rather than being the shape of a ball).

7.  Place each circle in the bowl of sugar, one at a time, spooning sugar onto the circle until it is fully covered with orange sugar.

8.  Decorate each circle with the Jack-o-Lantern face desired.  I used the black icing to outline the eyes, nose, and mouth of each Jack-o-Lantern and then used the yellow to fill in each outline so it looked like a candle shining through. 

9.  Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.  I served mine with both chocolate and graham cracker Teddy Grahams.

Happy Halloween!! 

Enjoy!

Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I went to a 4th of July Celebration and tried some Snickers Cookies.  They were peanut butter cookies with a miniature Snickers baked in the middle.   I liked them a lot so I thought I'd give them a shot.  Except I had to add my own twist, of course.  I started out with this cookie dough recipe, although I changed it up a little bit.  Then I experimented with a bunch of candy.  I finally settled on Reeses Peanut Butter cups.  

Here's what I used:

1 Cup of Butter, Room Temperature

¾ Cup Light Brown Sugar

¼ White Sugar

3.2 oz French Vanilla Pudding Mix

2 Eggs

1¼  Tsp Vanilla

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1 Tsp Salt

2 ¼ Cups All Purpose White Flour

¼ Cup 2% Milk

1 Bag Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

 

Here's What I did:

 

1.  Preheated the oven to 350 degrees.

 

2.  Creamed together butter and sugars.

 

3.  Added the pudding mix to the butter/sugar mix.  Mixed well.

 

4.  Added vanilla and eggs to that mixture.  Mixed well.

 

5.  In a separate bowl, I combined the baking soda, salt, and flour.

 

6.  Slowly added the dry ingredients to the wet ones, mixing well.  I found my dough to be a little dry, so I added the milk to get it to the right consistency.  You may not need the milk.  It's possible that you could need more or less milk.

 

7.  Unwrapped the peanut butter cups.  Made a ball out of the dough.  Put the peanut butter cup in the middle of the dough and rolled the dough around the peanut butter cup. 

 

8.  Baked for about 8 minutes.  Take the cookies out of the oven when they are golden brown.  Here are what mine looked life fresh out of the oven:

 

 

Let them cool before eating them.

 

Enjoy!

No Bake Cookies

I can cook up a storm when it comes to baking cookies.  I've never been able to make a  No Bake Cookie.  Not even to save my life.  Seriously, if someone told me I had to make a no bake cookie or die, I'd be as good as gone. . .  until . . . I found this recipe!  I conquered the No Bake!

I don't even like No Bakes.  The texture is unpleasant to me (I'm finicky about the texture of my food).  That probably has something to do with my inability to make them.  I did try one of these cookies after I made them.  It tasted pleasant, but I still couldn't get over that texture. 

The people who I shared them with (read: the poor souls who are kind enough to eat the results of my never ending recipe experiment) reported that the No Bake Cookies were really good.  And these are the kind of folks who are not gonna blow smoke for me.  So, you're just gonna have to rely on their opinions and give it a shot yourself!

Slightly adapted from: Indecisive Baker

Here's what I used:

1/2 Stick of Butter
1/2 Cup of Milk
2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1/4 Tsp Salt
3 Heaping Tbsps Cocoa
1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
2 3/4 Cups Quick Cooking Oats
1 Cup Mini Marshmallows
 
Here's what I did:

In a saucepan I melted the Butter and then added the Milk, Sugar, Vanilla, Salt and Cocoa.  I let that mixture boil for 90 seconds (don't let it boil longer than that!).   

After the 90 seconds, I removed the pan from the heat and immediately added the Peanut Butter.  After I mixed the Peanut Butter in completely, I added the Oats.  (You may use slightly more or less oats than I did -- somewhere between 2 1/2 and 3 cups) 

After the Oats were mixed in, I added the Miniature Marshmallows and stirred just until it was well combined.  

Finally, I dropped the cookies by heaping Teaspoon full onto waxed paper.  Let them cool completely before you eat them.

Enjoy!  

Monster Cookies??

I'd never even heard of Monster Cookies until this Christmas when my mom started mentioning them.  The way she talked, I thought they were some new fangled invention.   Clearly, I was wrong.  A couple of weeks ago, I was cruising my recipe websites trying to come up with a good recipe to make and a friend suggested Monster Cookies.  So I gave it a shot. 

I adapted this recipe: Paula Dean's Monster Cookies
Here's what I used:

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter

1 stick butter, softened 

1/2+ cup multi-colored chocolate candies (M&Ms)

1/2+ cup chocolate chips

2 teaspoons baking soda

4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (Not the same thing as instant otameal)

Here's what I did:

Preheated the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lined the cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Combined the eggs and sugars. Mixed well. Added the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. 

     HINT: Make sure  the butter really is softened.  I prefer to let it set out at room
               temperature to soften rather than heating it up in the microwave.

Mixed well. Stired in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, baking soda, and oatmeal. Droped by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the parchment paper.

Baked 10 minutes.

     HINT: On your first batch, make sure you start checking on them around 8 minutes as
               oven times vary.  You do not want to overbake these cookes.

Removed from oven.  Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire cooling racks.  This is what they looked like fresh out of the oven:

See how they're still a little bit gooey in the middle?  That's how I like 'em!

These cookies turned out to be really good.  The base of the cookie tastes a lot like a peanut butter cookie.  I don't like peanut butter cookies, so I expected to not like these, but I just kept eating them.  Funny how that happens . . .

These cookies were very soft and stayed that way for days.  I put them in plastic baggies after they cooled and they kept just fine.  I will warn you though, this recipe made a lot of cookies.  A LOT, a lot.  Like, 72+ cookies.  And that was after I ate half my body weight in dough.

Enjoy!